Longing
by Phei
Summary: Tony's becoming aware of his interest in a certain bespectacled doctor in a way he's not sure he's comfortable with. Rated M for a few chapters, Tony/Bruce
1. Dreaming of you

It was almost too much to bare.

The way he moaned, keened, cried his name with such reckless abandon. His back was arched, head tilted back, arms folded above his head and grasping at the sheets. His eyes were half-lid in pleasure, chest heaving, a sheen to his skin…

Tony worked harder. Thrusting into him, bending forward to press their mouths together in a heated kiss. Tongues worked against each other in the same desperate fashion that his hands worked on his partner's length. He'd never been this close to being undone, so un-composed in sex. So eager to see his partner to their climax, so needy to get to his.

His breath quickened, their impassioned kiss broke, he could feel it coming nearer. The man beneath him screamed in pleasure, and released on their chests. God, he was so close-

Tony Stark woke with a gasp, propping himself upright as he glanced around the room. Again? This was, what? The third time this week? He rubbed his face with his hands and bent his head, peeking through his fingers at the bulge under the blankets. Shit.  
Always the same person. But that was the first time they'd been in bed. This bed. He could look over and almost see where he would have been lying…  
The time before this, they'd been in the pool. The first time, he'd shamelessly taken him on the couch in the main room. Stripped him bare, felt his body…

His erection made itself known at those thoughts, and a hand snaked down under the blankets to wrap around himself.

God damn, even after he'd had sex with Pepper…

He glanced over to the woman who was sleeping oh so peacefully beside him, and gave himself a long stroke. He'd hoped that getting out some sexual energy before bed would help his situation, but obviously that failed. He stroked himself again, letting his eyes slide shut as he moved the blankets and shifted himself so his legs hung off the edge of the bed.  
He tried to imagine Pepper between his thighs, working him with her hands and mouth, ginger head bobbing leisurely… Maybe not Pepper, she'd never liked the idea of giving him oral.  
Another stroke.  
Any woman, anyone he's had before would work. A brunette, short curls, skilled mouth.  
His hand worked faster.  
Tongue moving against his head, fingering his balls.  
Tony bit back a groan.  
Brown eyes lift to look up at him. Eager, but somehow tired. Weary, worn, with suppressed emotion just beneath the surface, forever doomed to be contained and controlled.  
Just like that, it was no longer a woman from many flings before, but Bruce Banner.

He tilted his head back and came into his hand with a sigh. It was always the nervous doctor.

He stood after a moment of silence, and walked into the bathroom. Using an elbow to turn on the water he stared into the eyes of his reflection. Why on earth had Banner become the recent victim of his sex dreams? The first time he had felt shame after he'd woken up. But now? Aside from the hint of guilt at dreaming of doing a man while his girlfriend slept next to him, he was pleased.

He put his hands under the faucet and watched the semen wash away.

Unfortunately there was no one to talk to. Steve wouldn't understand, Barton was never around, Natascha would probably laugh, Thor wouldn't want anything to do with the conversation… And he certainly couldn't tell Bruce.

Tony turned off the water and dried his hands halfheartedly on a towel.

He'd deal with this, he supposed, maybe it would go away. Like a phase. Yeah, that was it. His night time fantasies of sexing Banner were just a phase. Maybe more time in the lab, reinforcing the idea that this man was his friend would help him get over it.

He climbed back into bed, pulling the blankets up and over his shoulders. A final thought entered his mind as he shut his eyes and waited for sleep to claim him.

Maybe he didn't want to get over it…


	2. Playing it cool

"Tony"

"Hmm?"

"You okay?"

"Mhmmm"

"You don't look it."

Tony lifted his head from the desk, glancing over his shoulder to meet the concerned gaze of the good doctor. "I'm fine," he tried again, straightening up in his chair "Seriously."

"You look exhausted," Dr. Banner pressed with a frown "Are you feeling alright?"

"Exhausted?" Tony echoed the word, thinking back to the night before. The last few nights. The dreams he'd been having about the very man before him. "Well, Pepper's been here," he smirked "And last night we-"

Bruce raised his hands and made a face "If it involves you, and a woman, I don't want to know." He said flatly "Just making sure you're not sick, or something."

"What? Me, sick?" Tony scoffed at the idea, looking back at the work on his table and trying to remember what it was he had been doing "The notion in and of itself is ridiculous, I haven't been sick since I was a kid. It was the flu... or something." He picked up the tools that he'd set out, hoping to jog his memory "Fever, barfing, whole nine yards. Should've seen mom's face..."

Bruce reached over and picked up the welding tool, pressed it into his palm, and looked doubtful "I can only imagine," he said flatly "Just take care of yourself, alright?"

Tony blinked down at his hand. Right. Welding.  
"You're such a mother hen!" He chided, leaning forward to go back to work. Banner scoffed and slid the goggles perched on top of Tony's head down to cover his eyes "Only with you, it would seem."

The comment earned him a grin, and Tony set back to work. He wouldn't admit it, but it was nice to have someone be concerned. It had been years since anyone had been so carefully observant. He supposed that was just in Banner's nature though, and despite what the doctor had said, was not restricted to just his interactions with Tony.

He glanced over from his work, watching Bruce as he looked over screens, magnified strands of DNA rotating slowly for the doctor to observe. For the past few days, he'd been closely examning Steve. Drawing blood, testing reflexes, asking endless questions that the Captain was obviously used to answering.  
"Whatcha doin', Brucie?" Tony asked mildly, not really surprised when the bespectacled man didn't so much as glance at him.

"Just trying to see how close we really came with me," Banner admitted after a pause "Fairly close, unfortunately what was off was very far off."

"Yeah, like the skin color?"

Banner rolled his eyes and smiled, looking away from the data to reach across the table and grab a file.

The fabric of the other man's trousers tightened around his thighs and back end at the movement, showing off the shape of his butt nicely. Tony bit his lower lip.  
Instantly he was thrown back into a dream from days before. Bending Bruce over the table and claiming him there, in a mess of papers and tools, listening to him moan and cry, begging for more.  
Tony shifted in his seat anxiously as the doctor straightened up and flipped through the contents of the file, nodding to himself and adjusting a few things on screen.  
"So, what are you working on over there, Mr. Stark?"

"Oh, ah..." Tony shot a fleeting glance back to his work space, willing himself to focus "Just fixing some stuff on a piece of my suit."

Banner glanced up from his file and raised an eyebrow. Tony rarely talked in such vague and lamemans terms. "You /sure/ you're alright?" He set down the folder and approached.

The engineer slapped a cocky smirk on his face, it was harder than it should have been to not imagine Bruce prowling towards him with bedroom eyes. "Absolutely, big man," He insisted again as the doctor reached out a hand and touched it to his forehead "There's no fever, do I need to start calling you mom?"  
Bruce dropped his hand and shook his head with a smile "Don't you dare."

Tony laughed and gave him a light push back towards his computer "Go back to fawning over Spangles' perfection." He urged, watching as the smaller man smiled and got back to his work. Then he turned his head away and rubbed his face with his hands.  
When it had been decided that the Avengers would live at the tower, it had been fairly easy to gather the team. Natascha and Clint were simply contacted through SHIELD. Steve had been found and informed to return to New York after his tour of the States. Apparently the Asgardian gate keeper had been keeping a closer eye on his prince's teammates, and they were able to get Thor back to Earth almost as soon as the decision had been made... Bruce Banner had been the last, and most difficult, to acquire. Apparently when the world was not in danger, he didn't want to risk being with people. It had taken Tony going to India and physically tracking him down to convince him to come back.  
It had been a month since then, exactly a month when the first dream had started. They disturbed Tony. Tony Stark, the playboy, the man who had slept with more women than he cared to count, was dreaming about sexing a man.  
But now? Now, despite himself, he was looking forward to sleep. _Hoping_ that the bare form of Bruce Banner was waiting for him.

"Tony."

The emphasis on the word made him think that it had been said multiple times. "Huh?" He looked up, torn from his thoughts.  
"Put down your tools, and go lie down."  
Bruce's voice was oddly stern, and the frown on his face made Tony uneasy  
"What? Why?" He countered, feeling defensive.  
"You've just been staring at the piece of your suite for at least twenty minutes. You haven't been responding when I've talked to you. I'm telling you as a doctor: go lie down."

Tony huffed, slamming down his tool in a false show of insult as he turned away "If you wanted me gone you could have just said so!"

"You're such a drama queen."

Tony winked over his shoulder, one last attempt to show that he was okay. Bruce only waved him out the door.


	3. The bad kind of dream

"Sir."  
"Jarvis. If I open my eyes and there is not a ray of sunshine coming through that window, I am going to fry your motherboard." He groaned into his pillow, feeling Pepper shift next to him.

"Sir, I believe you should get to Dr. Banner's quarters." Jarvis pressed, unaffected.  
"Dr. Banner?"  
That woke him up.  
"Indeed, sir. My readings show that he has a heightened heart rate. Nearing 190bpm."  
Oh, that was the bad number.  
Tony flung the blankets from his body and leaped from the bed, bolting out the door as Pepper sat up with concern.  
"Did you wake up Birdbrain?" He demanded as he slid around the corner at a run. If the Hulk made a sudden appearance, the specialized tranquilizers SHIELD had developed for some of Barton's arrows would be a big help.  
"Of course, sir." Was the response as Tony threw open the door.  
And there he saw Bruce, curled up and shaking on the floor near his bed, breathing harshly.  
"Hey, big man." Tony tried when he didn't acknowledge him "What's going-"  
"LEAVE!"  
He winced. That was definitely more Hulk sounding than it was Banner. He stepped closer, sinking to his knees beside him  
"N'ah, not quite yet." He kept his voice soft, and extended a hand to touch his back, surprised at how firm and tight the muscles were. Definitely not a good sign. "Breathe, Brucie." He muttered gently, replacing the hand with an arm as he pulled him to his side.  
Dr. Banner made a harsh sound, Tony wasn't sure what it was or what it meant, but he slid his other arm around him too, shifting to hug the smaller man to his chest. "Everything's alright," he continued "No one's here, no one's going to get you, it's just you and me." Bruce clutched at his upper arm with a surprising amount of force, and Tony leaned his head down to the curly mop of hair, resting it there. "I gotcha, Bruce."  
The sound that was then made was nothing short of pathetic, and it pulled roughly at his heartstrings. It was something akin to a whimper, and it made Tony tighten his arms around him "Shhhh, shhh, you're okay," he soothed, rubbing one of his arms as he spoke.  
It then occured to him that he had no idea why he was in this situation. What had nearly brought the Other Guy out? Tony glanced around the room, hoping to find some kind of clue. There was nothing. Everything looked normal. The sparsly decorated room was just the same as it always was. The yoga mat was rolled up in the corner, unlit candles and incense perched on top of his dresser, and a worn pair of shoes was hidden halfway beneath his bed... Nothing was out of place, nothing was wrong, so what had set him off?  
The man in his arms was slowly relaxing, breathing evening out, and the crushing grip on Tony's arm was lessening. All good signs. "Good job, big guy." He praised gently, giving him a squeeze. Bruce gave a tiny nod in answer, and finally let go of him.  
Tony carefully removed his arms, and the doctor stayed leaned against him for a moment before straightening up, and rubbing his face with his hands. He looked exhausted.  
"Thanks..." Bruce mumbled after a period of silence that Tony found himself unwilling to break. He waved a hand dismissively and leaned back on his hands "Anytime. Jarvis woke me up and told me that my science buddy was in trouble. Not like I could've gone back to bed."  
That earned him a small smile, but Tony's grin soon faded.  
"What happened?"  
Bruce glanced up from his hands and then slowly lowered them, suddenly not looking at Tony "I had a nightmare." He admitted lamely.  
"A nightmare? Must've been a doozy."  
"My mom died."  
He wasn't sure if it was the bluntness of the statement itself, or the tone in which it was said, but Tony found himself only able to stare.  
"It happened a long time ago, and I haven't had this dream in awhile. But it was just... her dying."  
Tony's head shook. He knew full well the feeling of losing a parent, and he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't prone to the periodic nightmare of the car crash that left him orphaned.  
"... I saw it happen." Bruce added quietly. That made Tony frown. He knew that Bruce had been raised by his aunt and uncle, that his mother had passed away and his father had been locked up in some kind of mental institution, but that was as far as any conversation pretaining to his youth had gone. And it was then that he saw the tears in the other man's eyes.  
"Bruce..."  
The look on the doctor's face was heart breaking, and before Tony knew what he was doing, he had pulled the smaller man into a hug. It was impulsive, like most things he does, but it felt right in a way that he couldn't quite explain. Then Bruce put his arms around Tony and returned the gesture, and the motion felt... complete. Despite the situation, Tony felt himself smile a little, and pulled the man closer, leaning his head against Bruce's.  
"Well, looks like everything's okay in here."  
If something had been within reach, Tony was fairly certain he would have thrown it at Clint Barton, because his words made the small doctor pull away.  
"Yes, I'm sorry." He said quietly, taking note of the nocked arrow in the agent's favorite bow.  
Barton nodded, flashed a thumbs up, and trudged back down the hall. Tony let his arms fall completely away from Bruce as the man stood. "Thank you for coming. I'm okay now."  
Tony frowned and watched the other man as he slid back into his bed "Hey, Bruce-"  
"You can go back to bed."  
At first he was offended by how dismissive the comment was. He had practically put his life on the line! If Banner had actually turned, he would've been the first thing Hulk would've run into, and that was never a good thing to be. But one more look at the world-weary doctor made the feelings evaporate almost instantly.  
Bruce had once told him that turning into Hulk didn't hurt unless he fought it. And by God had Bruce just fought it. He was hurting, undoubtedly sore, and Jarvis had probably woken up everyone in the tower in case Hulk got out of hand. For lack of a better word, the doctor was embarassed. Embarassed and aching in a way Tony doubted he'd ever really understand. And he wanted to be alone.  
"Sounds like a plan," Tony stated mildly as he stood, dusting off his sweatpants as he headed for the door. There might've been more to be said, but Tony let it go as he gently shut the other man's door.  
_'Tomorrow, I'll make up for this.'_ He thought to himself as he slid back into bed. Pepper shifted closer to him, putting her head on his shoulder as she tugged up the blankets to smother the light from his reactor. "I take it everything went well?"  
"My tower doesn't need to be rebuilt, I'd say it went well." Tony said with a one-shouldered shrug. He wasn't looking at Pepper as he spoke, but he supposed that wasn't a bad thing because she was already falling asleep.  
And after awhile Tony did too, after quietly asking Jarvis if Bruce had first.


End file.
